I enjoy the work very much and I find our approach and observations , at times, similar with to one another. One of the main differences being our citizenship; my being American and you British. Which as an artist is very important to the specifics and context of making work. You also have three years on me in the sixties but I have no less of a respect and inspiration for the entirety of the counter culture movement and its effect on us now.

The reason I was prompted to write you is the recent release I received on your project with CreativeTime, The New Museum and others- ‘It Is What It Is’ . It is perfectly timed and a great reminder for the fast moving American and all the media distractions around the economy which results in less coverage and reminders of the devastating wars going on. With this said my only question is why you don’t mention the involvement of the UK in this war? Seeing how you are British I know it is important to you, and I am amazed at your fascination with America but remember the wars wouldn’t have happened without the UK involvement; past, present and future. I hope this comes to surface more than once with your tour through the US. I also find it funny that you will not make it to the Bay Area with your project. What is the intention in this? Have they already been won over and need no prompted discussions around the current wars? I also wonder if you have done sufficient research to achieve the understanding that the greatest Middle Eastern populations exist in the Bay Area of California.

I am looking forward to seeing what kind of bats make it out of this cave.

The growth of public sculpture and installation has happened with private funding in the United States. The Public Art Fund in NYC has been doing amazing projects along all parts of the island of Manhattan and the fringes of its boroughs. The name would lead you to believe this is a publicly funded operation. It is not! The fall of the NEA lead to a major marriage between art and industry. The CEO’s of the industries also became the leading collectors of Art News profiles. Some of the biggest collectors and supporters have been: The Gap, Enron, Progressive Insurance, Citibank and plenty more. Yes the work landed in the public through the private funding of non profit projects in the public realm. The realization of many projects we have learned about have only been possible with large private investment. Yes the government partially supports some of the projects, but it was the overwhelming support from the private sector that supported a much larger percentage. It should also be noted that this same network of investors have been leaders on the boards of a great many museums in the US and abroad.

I find it funny that you blame the art press. They are guided by their advertising dollars and that comes in from the private sector. The main mission is to review current exhibitions in galleries, the related artists and concepts in the museums and the occasional profile on private collectors. The direction for exposure and critique is best left to groups like The New York Times. This is a solid network of informed journalists. If there is a lack of exposed public sculptures in the press, I believe it is because there have been few realized in the past decades. At this time there is a big paradigm shift and I will assure you that it will bring a great increase in exposure to brilliant public installations and sculptures.

This is one of the worst examples of America caring for its public art. It brings sadness to my mind. Thinking…feeling the slightest chance this seminal work will be harmed. Think about the future for once America!

I full heartedly object to anything happening in and around the seminal work Spiral Jetty by the artist Robert Smithson. This work should be cherished by the state of Utah and this includes its government officers. One would never propose to drill near the Washington Monument. I view this artwork as a comparable monument to a different era of American history. To further my objection I would like to bring Utah’s attention to the tragic death Robert Smithson had fall upon him and the consequence of this is a very limited body of completed public work. As a citizen of this country I plead with the state of Utah to find it within themselves to be a generous steward to a grand vision for all in the global landscape.

The Spiral Jetty brings me hope and inspiration. It is a work that has vision well beyond its time of creation. As the world turns to repairing itself from the destruction of 20th century industry, the Spiral Jetty reclaims that space in its beautiful location (Great Salt Lake) and presents the viewer with a glimpse of something bigger. Just as nature has allowed the Spiral Jetty to come back to its magnificence so should the state of Utah. Make a statement and allow the federal government the opportunity to preserve this truly spectacular piece of Land Art from the 20th century.

I have not been able to shake the impression Martin Puryear’s survey show at MoMA, NYC had on me. I was educated in the 90’s art canon where youth and concept held vogue and the sculpted object and artists like Martin Puryear had many naysayers. I will set out in this essay to discuss the subjects of quality vs. quantity, craft, conceptualism, authorship and sustainability.

Martin Puryear’s work contains a confidence in form and finish while allowing its completed state to hold on to the organic. It becomes ‘timeless’ without diluting its core natural state of rough textures, shaped dimensional boards and muted colors from the landscape . There is no reason not to place it on the same museum floor as Brancusi’s ‘Bird in Space’ and the Futurist’s ‘Running Man’. Puryear looks to the object to sum up the whole of culture and ones placement in the built landscape.

We are in the 21st century, one might proclaim, and I feel this makes Puryear’s work stronger. Puryear is able to hold the chisel and be relevant in contemporary culture. He confronts the ‘Walmart’ attitude of this country with his quality over quantity. His chisel cuts through the current climate of art as Marcel DuChamp did with his early urinal as readymade. Both utilitarian tools sculpt humanity into a manageable, viewable form that takes hold of history and the exhibition space.